


Sharp Claws

by Pokeshadow



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Blood, Fluff, Light Angst, Mild Gore, Monsters, Werewolf, Werewolf Barry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-02 22:50:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14555256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokeshadow/pseuds/Pokeshadow
Summary: Barry is stuck at work while the sun is setting, too polite to tell Ross he needs to leave. Of all the days to be stuck, of course it had to be the night of the full moon, and of COURSE everyone was still at work. His only option left is to lock himself in the bathroom and pray the beast inside him won't hurt his friends...





	Sharp Claws

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this for Halloween ~2016~ and kinda just forgot to finish it. Nearly 2 years late but hey here it is.

 

Barry shouldn’t still be in the office right now. The sun was just about to set, and he was still just sitting here on the couch watching Ross play a game. He should be safely at home by now, but they were so behind schedule lately he’d lost track of time today trying to film new episodes. Usually on this day he’d do a few hours of work in the morning, enough to still be productive and a help to the team, but leave in the early afternoon claiming to be tired and going to do some work in bed. That lie’s never drawn any suspicion, and it’d even gotten Dan to never try and bother him that night when he eventually got home from work. Tonight was different though. Losing track of time with work has left Barry sitting on the couch, still in the office surrounded by all his friends, putting them all in a very real danger they couldn’t imagine.

He jiggled his leg incessantly as he watched Ross playing the game beside him, responding accordingly to whatever happened on screen, but it was hard when his mind was elsewhere. He wanted to focus on his friend and the fun he was having with the game, but he just couldn’t keep hold of his concentration. Not when his skin was itching, his chest was starting to ache, and he couldn’t fight the urge to compulsively watch the episode timer countdown to when the episode should finish. Just two more minutes, and Barry could make the excuse that he was feeling really sick, and get out of there before anyone got hurt.

“Woah Barry, you’ve nearly broken the skin on your arm!” Ross exclaimed, taking one hand off the keyboard to stop the nails Barry hadn’t even been aware were mindlessly scratching his arm.

“Oh shit, I didn’t even notice” Barry blinked, letting his friend remove his hand from his arm, staring at the reddened skin that was on the verge of bleeding.

“You’ve been scratching yourself all afternoon you know” Ross told him, running a concerned thumb over the torn up skin.

“Yeah I’ve just been really itchy today and I have no idea why, but damn it’s annoying” Barry lied with a chuckle.

“I’ve heard some deodorants can do that, did you start using something new this morning or something?” Ross asked, returning to playing the game but still glancing over at Barry to make sure he didn’t start scratching again.

“Not that I can think of, but I didn’t get any sleep last night so maybe I’m just itching because I’m tired?” Barry suggested, lying again.

“Yeah maybe. Well I think I’ve nearly reached a good point to leave things off with so you can have an early night if you need it” Ross said with a sweet smile

“Sounds perfect, a good sleep will do me go-NNGFUCK!” Barry swore with pain as his bones started to ache, caught off guard by the pain. He glanced over at the clock on the wall in a panic. The sun had officially set now, but he still had a little bit of time before he turned. But not much, just enough to make an excuse to his friends and leave.

“Woah Barry you alright?” Ross asked with concern, pausing the game entirely to make sure his friend was ok.

“I-I think the food I ate last night was a little off, my stomach hurts like crazy right now” Barry lied through his teeth, trying to grit his teeth and put up with the pain long enough to get away.

“Shit man, alright if you’re in pain let’s just end the episode now. We’re not leaving on any cliff-hangers or anything, the lovelies will understand a slightly short episode” Ross said, putting a supportive hand on Barry’s shoulder.

“Thanks man. S-sorry lovelies, we’ll make it up to you with a longer episode tomorrow” Barry promised, trying to keep the pain he was in out of his voice.

“Later!” Ross said to the microphone, giving the episode a semi proper ending. They waited a moment, before Ross and Barry switched off their microphones.

“Thanks for that Ross, I need to get home, fast” Barry said with a pant, the incessant itching and aching growing worse with each passing second. He couldn’t make it home, he had to just run out the door as far as he could to turn somewhere there were no people and hope for the best. He didn’t want to be rude and abruptly just run out of the room, so he tried his best to smile and politely open the door for Ross to exit with him.

“Yeah yeah of course, we’ll let you go rest up and get some Panadol or something” Ross smiled at his friend with worry. Barry tried not to let his panic show as he briskly walked into the main room, Ross following closely behind. Barry’s heart filled with dread as he took in how many people were in the office still. Dan and Vernon were both sitting on the couch talking, Arin on the floor in front of Dan playing with his phone as Dan absentmindedly played with his hair. Suzy was talking to Matt and Ryan in the editing area, all of them seeming to be watching some kind of video that definitely wasn’t work. Brian was making a coffee in the kitchen alongside Jack, Brent close by rummaging the cupboard to probably find a group snack for everyone to have before the evening sessions. Of all the nights the whole team had to be in the office, why tonight.

“Oh hey you guys finished earlier than usual” Dan said, glancing up from Arin’s hair.

“Barry’s not feeling too well, so we thought we should end thing early” Ross explained, but as he got to the end of his sentence Barry gasped with pain, almost falling to his knees. He was too late, he was about to turn right here in the office, the pain of his bones starting to shift was almost too much to bear. He was aware of people getting up to help him, Ross even grabbing Barry around the shoulders to try and support him. In a panic, Barry shoved his friend away. The bathroom had a lock, he had to lock himself away. He had to get away before he hurt someone. He ran.

“Don’t follow me!” Barry gasped, rushing towards the bathroom. “I’m locking myself in, and no matter what you hear no one open that door!”

“Barry, what the fuck is going on?” Arin called after his, voice filled with concern.  Barry could hear everyone getting up to follow him, trying to catch up to get him to tell them what was wrong, but he was just too close to transforming to pause for even a second. He sprinted down the hall to the bathroom, flung himself inside, and locked it before the others could burst in after him. As soon as he pressed himself against the door, his friends reached the other side and started trying the knob.

“Barry you’re really scaring us, what’s happening?” Dan begged through the door.

“Talk to us Bar!” Suzy called out. He wished he didn’t have to do this to his friends, but he had no choice.

“No, I-I can’t. Please, just trust me and don’t open this door no matter what happens. I don’t want to hurt any of yo-AHRG” Barry cried out in agony, the transformation beginning. His bones were on the verge of snapping, and his skin was about to start stretching and tearing. No matter how many years passed, each transformation was still just as excruciating as the last, he never got used to the pain. Barry fell to his knees, clawing at the floor as his body was wracked with pure agony, tears streaming down his face. He could hear everyone calling his name, begging him to let them in, but he couldn’t muster up the energy to reply with anything more than screams of pain.

“Brent, go get the keys!” Barry heard Arin snap in a panic.

“NO! Please, you can’t let me out of here!” Barry gasped, yelling at his friends through the pain.

“Why not!?” Ross cried out. Barry opened his mouth to reply, but could only scream as the bones in his hands started to shatter. He started to writhe on the floor, unable to stop himself from kicking out and slamming his foot against the door.

“Barry!” Dan cried out, the doorhandle being abused as he tried to force the lock open.

“Get the FUCK OUT OF HERE!” Barry snarled through the pain, hoping the anger in his voice scared them enough to obey. “Leave the office now before I k-kill you!”

Barry spasmed with pain as the bones in his arms began to break and shift, stretching his skin as they moved to the point it nearly broke through. He started trying to crawl to the other side of the room, maybe he could force himself into one of the bathroom stalls to add an extra barrier between himself and his friends, but each tiny movement set fire to his body. He was trying so hard to crawl, but the slightest bit of pressure on his arms was sending him into screams of agony, his broken bones cracking and finally breaking the skin on the arm he’d been scratching. He made it halfway across the room when he had to stop, his legs starting to snap and reform, blood trickling from the new hole in his arm. His voice was already hoarse from all the shrieking, tears staining his face as he rolled onto his back and writhe in pain. He could hear his friends crying out his name, but he couldn’t focus on the words anymore. Not when his hands were reforming into claws, and his feet were shattering to become paws. He probably should have taken off his clothes before now, but the pain was just too much to force himself to sit upright and rescue them. He could only just manage to force his broken fingers to pull the shoes off his torn apart feet before the shoes were destroyed. He’d love to try and pull of his shirt and save his pants, but the effort and pain it had taken him to just remove his shoes had taken a toll on him.

As his spine started to stretch and crack, Barry realised there was another sob mirroring his own from the other side of the door. It took Barry a moment to realise it was Arin, begging him to open the door, voice quaking from an obvious panic attack. He wanted to feel guilty, he really did, but as the pain finally reached his head, jaw shattering as it prepared to reform into a snout, his mind was starting to go blank. He was trying as hard as possible to hold on, repeating the thought to just keep it together. He had to hold onto his humanity, he just had to, he couldn’t lose control this one time to keep everyone safe… Barry’s throat started to twist, vocal cords reforming as he started to sprout hair across his body. He was trying so hard to hold onto his humanity, but the closer he got to his full transformation the harder it was to keep hold of his mind. He could still hear his friends trying to get in, and as his body grew closer and closer to its new form and he grew closer and closer to losing his mind, Barry tried one last time to save them.

“Please… please leave. Ahhg… just run and l-leave me locked in here” Barry begged his friends, voice coming out in more of a growl as his face continued to morph. He was aware of his friends yelling and pleading, but Barry was fading fast, he couldn’t understand his friend’s words anymore. He had to hold on to his humanity…he just had to….had to…everything was so blank, just pain of transformation. Legs snapping into shape, claws lengthening, teeth sharpening… no, wait, he had to hold on. He had to keep focusing on…on… Barry was fading, unable to fight his body. He gave one last cry, which was more of a howl with his new vocal cords, before slipping away…

 

 

 

…Barry panted against the floor, body settling down. He let out a soft whine, still aching from the change. He eased himself onto his paws, noticing the wound on his arm. Who hurt him? He doesn’t bleed unless he’s been attacked. He softly whined, lapping at the wound with his rough tongue, clearing the blood away. He shivered to himself, still able to taste the human in his blood. The delicious taste didn’t last long however as he cleaned the wound, his own wolf blood taking over the taste. It did make him hungry though…he had to find food soon… He started to notice a strange noise near him, a banging noise, and a metallic click. And voices, human voices. It was then Barry noticed he was trapped, cornered in a small room, unable to escape. The humans continued to yell and bang, so Barry roared at them, trying to scare them away. The banging stopped, but after a moment the voices started up again, along with the metallic clicking.

The door to the tiny room started to cautiously open, a human’s face peering through the gap. Barry snarled, trying to scare it away again. The human yelped, slamming the door shut again. Barry growled, pleased. He had to get out of here, he can’t be trapped like this. Being trapped was dangerous, he couldn’t fight in a corner, if these humans have weapons he could die. There were several human voices out there, even if only one had a weapon, being trapped here could get him killed. The door started to open again, this time many faces looking through the gap at him. Barry roared, trying to mask his fear scent by puffing up his chest to appear bigger. The humans flinched, but didn’t run away as Barry had hoped. In fact, one of them started to open the door further, starting to try and enter the room. Barry roared again, baring his fang threateningly. The skinny human with a messy mane slid nervously into the room, arms held tightly to his chest as he stared at Barry in fear. The human murmured something nervously, Barry recognised the word after a moment or two.

“Barry?” The human trembled. That word, it was so familiar…was it his name? It could be, but Barry couldn’t remember. The human took a step closer, holding out a hand. Barry snarled, cautiously watching the human getting closer. There was another human at the doorway, hissing at the skinny one in the room. Barry was starting to panic. As hungry as he was, there’s no way he could take out all these people if one of them had a weapon. But given the fear in this human’s eyes….they weren’t prepared for this. Maybe Barry could take them out…and maybe he could even satiate himself before escaping.

“Barry, calm down. It’s me, Dan” The human said nervously holding out a hand towards Barry. This human was much too close, but maybe Barry could use that to his advantage. He was starving, and this human smelt so good…

Barry let the human get another step closer, then lunged forward with a snarl, sinking his teeth right into the human’s shoulder and his claws into his back. He bit down hard, delicious blood filling his mouth as he shook the human roughly, scrapping his claws down the human’s back. The human was so soft, so easy to break as it howled with pain, uselessly hitting at Barry’s face to push him away. Barry was so hungry, and even though this human barely had any meat on him, he was going to fucking enjoy it…

A fist collided into Barry’s muzzle, surprising him enough to let go of his prey with a yelp. A grey haired human was attacking him, punching his face again and driving him into the corner. A second human joined him, a younger and thicker one with a furred face, taking an angry swipe at Barry before grabbing Barry’s victim protectively, guarding him from Barry. Barry snarled, swiping his claws at his attackers. He caught the grey haired man on the arm, but that didn’t stop the human’s fury. The human lunged at Barry, dodging his snapping jaws, and punching him in the stomach. Barry staggered backwards with a snarl, watching the humans carefully as he tried to recover from the blows. A group of humans had surrounded Barry’s prey and were ushering him out of the room, the grey haired man and the thick one blocking Barry’s path to reclaim the thin one. No matter…more meat on these new humans anyway.

The humans were trying to talk to Barry, but his adrenaline was pumping so hard he couldn’t here to words. He had a blood lust that needed sating, even if he had to fight them. Barry let out a roar, before charging into the grey haired human, easily driving him up against the bathroom wall with a bang. While the grey one was dazed, Barry turned to face the thicker one and leapt at him. With a fearful yowl, the human was forced to the ground, Barry throwing all his weight on top of him so he wouldn’t get away. Barry started slashing his claws viciously across the human’s chest, trying to draw up as much blood as possible to keep the human from being able to get away. The human screamed with agony, trying desperately to get away but unable to get the wolf’s massive weight off of him. Barry couldn’t hold back any longer, he needed to taste flesh and blood. He licked his chops eagerly, then drove his jaws towards the human’s throat.

Arms wrapped around Barry’s jaws, forcing his mouth to shut just before he could dig his fangs into the human pinned below him. Barry tried to roar and shake the human off, but the man had an iron grip on his mouth. The grey haired one yanked Barry’s jaw hard, forcing him off the thicker man. Barry swiped his claws at his attacker, the human unable to dodge or escape unless he let go of his mouth. His claws dug into the older man’s skin, ripping through his clothes with ease, drawing blood instantly. The human yelled and snarled at Barry, but didn’t let go, letting Barry shred him with his claws while forcing him backwards into the corner. Barry didn’t like being forced back, but this human wasn’t responding to his attacks. He attempted to thrash around, slamming the human up against the closest wall in an attempt to dislodge him. The grip loosened for a second, but as Barry tried to pull away and free himself the human grabbed at him again, not letting Barry get away.

Two more humans burst into the room, one big thick one with dark hair, and one thin one holding some kind of silver roll. The grey haired human forced Barry up against the wall, yelling to the new humans. The bigger of the two ran forward and grabbed one of Barry’s arms, forcing his claws from the side of the grey haired man. The new human pinned his arm up against the wall, forcing his whole body weight against it to try and keep it there. Barry wanted to howl with rage. These people were going to kill him, he had to get away as fast as possible. As the third human started taking the strange grey roll and wrap it around his muzzle, Barry threw all his strength into ripping his arm free from the bigger man, the human slowly losing grip on Barry. With his other hand, he started trying to slam his hand up the side of the grey haired one’s head, hoping to daze him. The thin one kept wrapping the strange smelling grey material around his muzzle, but as Barry began to thrash wildly again, freeing his arm from the new thicker human and dazing the grey haired one with his assault on his head, Barry managed to throw the three off them off him. They jumped back in fear, and as Barry tried to roar in triumph...his mouth was still sealed shut. But, the human wasn’t holding him anymore? Wait, the grey thing that had been wrapped around his jaws! Distracted, Barry tried to snap his bonds with his mouth and claws, but his claws could get no purchase on the surface, and his jaws weren’t strong enough to snap through it. The humans watched his struggle, for some reason still not running away despite their injuries. In fact, another human decided to enter the room, one with soft hair and blue eyes. He rushed to the grey haired man’s side, trying to drag him from the room. Barry couldn’t let them get away, he still had working claws, and these human had no weapons.

He snarled in his throat, charging forward determined to end these humans. He had no mouth to eat his prey just yet, but by the time he’d torn them to shreds with his claw or bled them to death, he’ll have enough time to figure out how to feast off their bodies. Realising the danger they were in, the humans all rushed for the door, and even though Barry was sprinting full speed, by the time he reached them the humans were safely through the door, slamming it in his face. Barry tried to roar in outrage, but all that came out was a muffled howl around his tied up mouth. He slammed himself against the door, trying to break it down to no avail. He smashed his hands against the door in anger, raking his claws across its surface, but all it achieved was imprinting his mark on the door. Barry tried to snarl in outrage, but all he could manage was a muffled growl. He could hear the humans talking through the door, and even in his anger he managed to make out some more words he recognised, especially the word the thought was his name.

“What the fuck are we going to do about Barry?”

“Actually listen to his begging’s for us to leave him locked in there all night?”

“Well I for one think we should probably call an ambulance, this shit hurts so bad”

“And what are we going to tell them, that a werewolf attacked the three of you? They’d hang up on us!”

“We could say it was a bear?”’

“A bear all the way out here in Glendale?”

“It could happen, maybe”

“Well Suzy and Vernon are doing a good job nursing Dan and Arin, I think you better go join them before you start bleeding out”

“Technically I already am bleeding out, I just won’t pass out from this for maybe a couple more minutes. They better have a shit tone of bandages… can you two guard the door for a while? We need to make sure Barry doesn’t like, break down the door or anything”

“We can watch it just fine, but if he breaks it down and gets that duct tape off then there’s not really much we can do to force him back in”

“Well hopefully he won’t, but if he somehow does yell out to us as early as possible so we can try to get outside and lock him in the office”

“This is so fucking crazy…”

“Extremely so, but not much we can do about it other than keep each other safe. And as much as I want to go back in there and fight Barry until he comes to his senses, that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen so we’ve gotta keep _him_ safe from himself”

Barry was sick of trying to understand he human’s words, it hurt his head trying to translate the noises. He did understand they were talking about him, he picked up his own name a few times, but he also picked up other words he knew so well. Arin, Dan, Suzy, Vernon, he knew all those words, but he couldn’t remember why. It hurt trying to remember, and as his stomach growled with hunger pains, he stopped caring. Barry could still smell the blood through the door, his victim still bleeding profusely from his attacks. If he could get to the human before it started trying to heal itself, he could take it down. And this grey haired one seemed the pack leader of attackers, if Barry could get rid of him, the others might give up and flee. With renewed effort, Barry started to slam himself against the door as hard as he could, trying to break it down. The humans yelped with fear, but the door held strong. Barry continued to ram it though, maybe after repeated assaults the door would give in. He could hear the humans yelling to each other fearfully, but still not running away. Barry just had to keep trying, he needed to eat so badly and he couldn’t let this human get away from him…

Long minutes passed as Barry tried to break down the door, to no avail. The wood wouldn’t budge. One of the humans ended up leaving, and as the smell of fresh blood faded Barry knew it had to be his prey leaving to get healed. He was so mad, but he couldn’t express his anger, his jaws still tied tightly shut. He was getting so tired, and his body ached with his efforts to destroy the door. He’d resorted to trying just to tear through it with his claws, but it was getting him nowhere. He had to rest…but the humans could be waiting for exactly that, to finish him off when he couldn’t fight back. The fear of this made him continue his assault for another minute or so, before he had to stagger away from the door. Barry hurt too much, he couldn’t keep going. He had to rest… Barry padded over the blood stained floor, curling up against the wall on the far side of the room so he could pant and try once more to free his mouth. He scratched at the material, too exhausted to put all his strength into trying to tear it off. Barry wearily tried to kick it off with his hind paws, before giving up, curling up on the floor with an exhausted whine.

Before Barry could recover his strength, the door started to open again. Barry wanted to growl and snarl, scare the human away before it realised how vulnerable he was, but all he could manage was a soft whine. The human quietly slipped into the room, not rushing to attack him like the grey haired one. This one was the soft one from before, his tuft of fur slightly messier now and his face redder.

“Barry?”

He recognised his name, and tried to growl again. All that came out was a tired rumble.

“Barry it’s ok, I’m not here to hurt you”

The human’s voice was soft, submissive. It seemed to be trying to convey it was peaceful, but Barry was so tired he couldn’t afford to be tricked. As the human grew closer, he mustered up the energy to lift his head and growl, trying one last time to scare the human away before it attacked him. The human flinched, but didn’t run.

“Please calm down Barry, it’s just me, Ross”

Barry recognised that word. It was so familiar, but why? He stared at the human trying to remember… the word sounded like a name, a name that made Barry feel warm inside. Was this the human’s name? Barry stared at the human, at his soft hair and blue eyes…and it did feel like he knew him, somehow. The name fit the human well.

The human took another step closer, and Barry rumbled with warning, but he wasn’t as afraid as before. That word it had said scraped at some long forgotten memory, he couldn’t see it, but it made him feel warm, safe. He still wasn’t happy about having a human so close to him, but it seemed peaceful, it didn’t want to hurt him.

“That’s it… everything’s fine Barry, I’d never hurt you” The human murmured softly. Barry didn’t really understand the words, they all sounded so familiar but his brain just couldn’t translate them, but their tone spoke of benevolence. If this human really wanted to hurt Barry, he’d have done it by now, when he was at his weakest. The human crouched down in front of Barry, close enough for Barry to swipe him with his claws if he really wanted too…but he was so tired…and he didn’t feel he was in danger anymore…

“I’m going to touch you now Barry, but please don’t panic. I’m not going to hurt you, you’re safe with me”

The human slowly raised his hand as he talked, very cautiously moving it towards him. Even though his voice spoke of kindness, Barry was still afraid. Human hands could hurt him, could kill him if they really wanted to. He shied away from the touch, but after a moment’s pause from the human, it kept reaching forwards to touch him. He should push the human away, strike him with his claws, get up and run for the door again… but he’d drained himself so much. He conceded defeat as the hand touched his head. Barry flinched at the touch, still terrified of this being a trick… but the hand just sat there, warming his head with the human’s body heat. What was it doing?

“There we go… see, that wasn’t so bad was it?”

The human’s voice seemed happy, and it started to ease Barry out of his fear. The hand started to slowly stroke his head, fingers running through his fur in a way that made his skin tingle. It felt nice…no one had ever touched Barry in a nice way before… Barry let out a happy rumble, easing into the touch of the Ross human.

“You like that Barry? I can’t fucking believe this is working…”

Barry recognised his name again as the human stroked his fur, and let out a soft whine. Why was a human touching him nicely like this? Humans were the enemy, or the prey, not friendly like a pack member. The human Ross shifted his petting down to under Barry’s jaw, scratching him in a way that sent warm sparks through Barry’s body. He let out a happy grumble, dropping his head into the human’s lap. Maybe not all humans were bad. Some were food, some were dangerous, and some were for petting.

“Holy shit, you’re just a big wolfy dog aren’t you Barry? This is kinda fucking cool… Hey Barry, can you actually understand me? Like, can you nod or give me a grumble if you know what I’m saying?”

Barry was starting to like listening to his human make noise, it had a soft voice, not like the harsh barks of the other humans. He knew the human must be talking to him, recognising his name a few times in the murmur of words, but he just couldn’t translate the rest of it. They all sounded so familiar, but his brain wasn’t deciphering them. The Ross human let out a little sigh, raising his other hand to scratch at Barry’s ear. It felt so good, but having his head buried in the human’s lap wasn’t helping his hunger situation at all. The human Ross smelled delicious, it made his stomach rumble breathing in his scent…but even if he wanted to, Barry couldn’t do nothing about it. His mouth was still stuck. Besides, if he ate the Ross human, he couldn’t get rubs anymore, and Barry was really starting to like the rubs. It was relaxing him so much, as Barry regained his strength, he started to rub his head against the Ross, rubbing his scent onto the human to claim him. The Ross was his now, his for petting.

Barry flinched as he heard the door open again, another human rushing in much too fast. Barry immediately felt the danger, this wasn’t a nice human who wanted to rub him. In fact, as Barry sniffed the room, the smell of blood flooded his nose. It was the grey haired human again. Barry scrambled to his feet, puffing up his chest defensively.

“Ross I said don’t come in here, are you fucking crazy?!”

Barry tried to snarl, but the grey material holding his muzzle closed made the threatening sound come out as a muffled growl. The grey haired human had something white wrapped around his body, stained with blood from Barry’s attack. It was trying to heal itself, but the stench of blood reeking from the human was setting Barry’s teeth on end. He was still so hungry, and so angry at being trapped and having his mouth tied shut. Barry bared his claws, heart pounding as he let the adrenaline take over.

“Brian for fuck sake, I had him calm a moment ago!” The Ross human snapped at the grey haired one. Barry started to move forward, ready to finish what he had started. The Ross human pushed his way in front of Barry, blocking his path.

“Barry, no!”

Barry growled, not liking the new tone the Ross was giving him. He didn’t want to hurt the Ross human, but he’d swipe him aside if he had to. Barry tried to step around him, but the Ross moved to block his path.

“Barry, I said no!”

It sounded like the Ross human was scolding him, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t feel shame, he felt anger and hunger! He shouldn’t be wanting to make the human happy with him, that wasn’t a beast’s job! Barry rumbled in his throat, not backing down from wanting to finish the job with grey haired human, but not forcing his way forward anymore.

“Don’t give me that look Barry, I’m not moving”

The Ross human crossed his arms over his chest in a disapproving manner, staring at Barry expectantly. This was so wrong, Barry should just tear straight through both of them and sate his hunger…. He should be ripping of this stuff trapping his mouth and take them both off guard right now! It’s what he’s supposed to do, it’s what his body was telling him to do! But….

Barry tried to let out an indignant howl through his bonds, turning around to smash his fists against the wall, thrashing his tail madly. This Ross human was NOT allowed to make him feel like this, it was wrong, unnatural. It went against everything Barry ever knew. He paced back and forth against the back of the room, glaring at the Ross human.

“Don’t you fucking sass me Barry, I said no!”

The Ross human was standing his ground hard, still deliberately blocking Barry’s path to his former prey. Barry snarled, tail thrashing angrily, but he couldn’t bring himself to upset the Ross. The Ross human kept glaring at Barry, waiting for him to submit. Barry breathed heavily for a moment, wanting to bare his teeth in fury, before snarling indignantly, angrily sitting on the floor with a huff.

“How the fuck did you do that?”

“He’s just a big scared wolf who just discovered petting, and he loves me. Hey Barry?”

Barry recognised his name and glanced up at the Ross, glaring.

“You’re such a good boy” The Ross human smiled, walking back over to Barry and scratching behind his ears. Barry grumbled, still mad at the Ross for making him submit like this…but damn did the scratches feel good.  After a moment, Barry huffed, letting himself relax into the touch.

“I have no idea how you’re so calm right now Ross, especially after being so upset before”

“Yeah, well, I am still freaking out a little, but I feel like it’s my fault Barry’s even here. We fell behind with work I asked him to film a bunch of episodes with me. If I’d let him go home early when he first mentioned not feeling great today, he wouldn’t be here right now…”

“It’s not your fault Ross, Barry’s just too polite. He should have been clearer that he needed to go. You couldn’t have known this was going to happen”

“I know, I just still feel guilty…”

Barry rumbled with annoyance as the Ross’s pets and scratches slowed down, nuzzling Ross’s chest to get him to pick up the pace.

“Ah, sorry Barry”

Barry hummed happily as the Ross human continued to run his fingers through his fur.

“This is highly interesting you know, I always assumed that a werewolf could only think about killing and maiming, yet he seems really into this. I wonder why he accepted you straight away and not Dan?”

“He’d only just woken up, he was probably either panicking or just gotten hit by the wolf hunger. I got to him when he was exhausted and too tired to attack me. At least that’s what I think”

“Do you think he’d let me pet him too?”

Barry snarled as the grey haired human raised a hand toward him. If he wasn’t allowed to attack and kill the grey haired man, the grey haired man wasn’t allowed to do the same to him.

“I’ll take that as a no”

“You should probably be resting up anyway Brian, he did get you pretty bad before”

“Yeah I know, but Dan got all upset because I deliberately got myself so hurt trying to protect him. I kind of want to give him a little time to calm down with Arin…but having said that I think I did reopen a few wounds rushing back in here, Ryan made it sound like you were actively dying in here”

“You better go back, last thing you need is to lose more blood”

“Point taken. So what exactly are you going to do? I don’t think Barry’s letting you up any time soon”

“Uh, you wouldn’t happen to know how long it is until sunrise would you?”

“Well uh, about nine or so hours”

“Fuck”

Barry grumbled again, nuzzling the Ross human to get it to resume petting him. The human sighed, starting to rub further down Barry’s back, massaging his shoulders. If Barry’s mouth was free, he’d let out a low groan of delight at this.

“He’s not going to let me sleep is he?”

“I doubt it”

“Well uh, can someone take turns staking out the door in case I need help throughout the night?”

“Naturally, Matt and Ryan are already out there. I’ll make sure there’s always at least one person out there”

“Thanks Brian. Go get patched up, I’ll see you in…a few hours I guess”

“Be safe, if he suddenly decides he doesn’t love you anymore get out fast, alright?”

“Nah I was planning on becoming bacon”

“If you were bacon Barry couldn’t eat you though”

“Because a werewolf really cares about the jewish laws”

“Of course they do, werewolves are the most religious of all the monsters you insensitive prick”

“Weren’t you going to go get medical attention?”

“Right right, I’ll come check on you again in an hour or so alright?”

“Holy shit Brian would you please go get your fucking wounds checked out?”

“Alright geez. I’ll see you later”

“I’ll be here”

“You better be”

Barry whined as the human Ross’s hand stopped rubbing him again, shifting around in his lap to recapture his attention.

“I see you, I see you…”

 

 

Barry sprawled against the human’s lap for a few hours, shifting around and whining every time the Ross started to drift off and stop. By the end of the first hour, Barry had crawled into Ross’s lap like a pup, grumbling happily as the human began petting and rubbing newer areas. By hour three, Barry was on his back, discovering the new joy of chest and belly rubs. But by hour four, he was becoming a little restless. Sitting still for so long was making his muscles feel all tight. Also, as the hours had dragged on, his hunger hadn’t lessened at all. In fact, the more or the Ross human’s scent he breathed in, the more starving he felt. Barry regretfully pulled away from the human, stretching out with a soft whine, and started to pace around the room.

“You alright there Bar?”

The human sounded very tired, almost a little weak. Weak enough to…to… Barry growled to himself, pacing a little faster. He wasn’t allowed to hurt the human, the human felt too much like a pack mate, but he still couldn’t get the natural instinct of humans being prey out of his head. No matter how weak the Ross looked, Barry wasn’t allowed to hurt him. Besides, his mouth was still tied shut, he couldn’t eat him even if he couldn’t resist anymore. His stomach growled loudly though, remembering how close he had come to eating before, the taste of blood that had lingered in his mouth for so long…

“Oh shit, you really are starving aren’t you? Hmm…hang on, let me see if I can help you with that”

Barry jumped a little as the human suddenly stood up, stretching his back out with a crack. The same crack of bones between teeth, the crunch of a delicious meal… Barry shivered, starting to pace again. The Ross human cautiously started to walk around Barry to get to the other side of the room, still wary of the beast. Barry let him pass, flicking him with his tail though to try and show he meant no harm at the moment. The Ross human smiled a little, then knocked on the door.

“Hey guys, who’s on guard duty?”

“Me”

“Oh hey Jack, would you mind asking the others or just going to check if there’s any kind of raw meat in the office?”

“What the fuck do ya want to do with raw meat?”

“Barry’s starving, I want to see if maybe he’ll stop being so restless if I try to feed him”

“Haven’t we got his mouth tied up to STOP him from eating though?”

“Well yeah, but he trusts me, and if he suddenly stops I can run pretty fast”

“You’re a mad man, you know that?”

“Jack come on, please?”

“I’m goin’, I’m goin’”

Barry’s stomach gave another rumble as he decided to press his head into Ross’s leg, trying to force himself to get used to his smell and associate it with something other than food. Ross let out a happy bark, ruffling Barry’s head fur. The Ross human was so warm…and soft…so easy to… Barry growled at himself, pressing himself against Ross’s leg again for a moment, before turning around to start pacing again. There was still blood on the floor, dried and stale, but now that Barry was more on edge, the smell was starting to get to him. Being trapped like this was driving him crazy…

“We have sausages, does that count?”

“No that’s perfect, how many?”

“Big packet, there’s like 15 in here”

“Perfect! Pass ‘em through Jack”

Barry flinched as the door opened, claws scrabbling on the floor as he backed up against the wall, puffing his chest up again to appear as intimidating as possible. A new human appeared in the entrance, one he hadn’t seen yet, holding something black in his hands. Barry started to growl, hunger gnawing away at his mind, making him want to lose control. He’d decided not to hurt and eat the Ross human, not whoever this is.

“Calm down Barry, it’s just Jack”

That word sounded familiar too. Why? It did seem like a name, another one that made him feel warm, but not in the same way that the Ross word did.

“Do ya think he actually recognises us?”

“Not really sure, he does seem to know his name and my name, but he doesn’t really respond to most other words. I think maybe names work on him”

“Should I try saying me name then? He seems a lil’ hostile lookin’ at me”

“Go ahead”

The new human stepped further into the room, spooking Barry a little. He let out a rumble in his throat, but catching the Ross human’s disapproving stare, he didn’t do anything more threatening.

“Hey Barry, it’s me, Jack”

He definitely remembered that word, it was a name, a name that fit the new human very well. It hurt his head to try and remember exactly why, but if the Ross human is friendly towards them, they mustn’t be too bad. Barry let out a rumble, accepting that the new human wasn’t dangerous. But he still smelled so tasty… Barry began to pace again, making sure not to show off too much of his back to the Jack human.

“I think that went well?”

“You did better than Dan and Brian”

“That’s fucked up man”

“You’re the one laughing at it”

“Just take you’re sausages before I tell ‘em you said that”

“You wouldn’t dare”

“Wouldn’t I?”

“Hey, stick close to the door though ok? Not sure exactly what’s going to happen when I take off the ductape”

“Like I wasn’t already plannin’ that. Heck, when I said why I was stealing the sausages at last three people followed me and are probably already hovering near the door”

“Aha, of course. Well, pull me out if things turn to shit ok?”

“’Course man”

Barry noticed that the Ross human had turned to face him again, holding the black shape the other human had brought in. The Jack one was carefully exiting the room, making Barry feel a little safer. Barry was noticing a new smell in the room now though, a meaty smell, but not the warm fresh kind. The Ross human put the black thing on the ground, and Barry noticed the smell was coming from that. His stomach growled as he tried to recognise the scent. It seemed like some kind of food. Barry padded over to investigate.

“Barry, I’m going to take that tape off your nose now alright? Please don’t go crazy?”

The Ross human carefully leaned down close to Barry, running a hand over his muzzle. Barry hummed happily at the touch, letting Ross hold his face in his warm hands. The human’s hands started to move around Barry’s muzzle, a strange tugging sensation dragging Barry from his happy fuzz. A sharp tug of his snout fur made him yelp, scrambling backwards. He stared at the Ross human, betrayal in his eyes.

“Shit sorry Barry, the tape’s stuck to your fur! I don’t want to hurt you, but I need to take this off ok?”

The human’s voice seemed apologetic, holding out his hands submissively. Barry pawed at his nose, trying to sooth the pain he’d felt, but his paw caught on the loose strand of grey stuff and tugged it even more. Barry yelped as it pulled out more hairs, shaking his head madly to try and get it away. A hand grabbed his face, running its fingers through his head fur. The human Ross’s face was right near Barry’s, murmuring soothing noises.

“It’s ok, it’s ok, I’ll get it off you now ok? I’ll try to do it as slow and painlessly as I can ok? Don’t be mad at me”

The Ross human took the end of the grey thing and very slowly started to unravel it, still running his fingers through Barry’s fur. Barry whimpered and whined as it pulled at his fur, but now that he understood the human was trying to free his mouth, he didn’t try to pull away. He raked his claws against the tiles, trying to sit still as the Ross slowly unravelled the grey sticky stuff. His tail thrashed wildly as he whined, but after one last painful tug, he was free. The Ross human stepped away warily as Barry rubbed at his muzzle, trying to make the stinging go away. It took Barry a moment to properly realise his mouth was free at last. He stretched his jaws gratefully, letting out a groan at how good it felt. And then Barry realised _really_ how free his mouth was, and what exactly he could do with it now…

“There you go, much better! Now then, I got something I’m hoping you’ll like”

He could bite, he could maim, he could tear into flesh and satiate his hunger, he could…. No, Barry couldn’t do that. He’d decided not to hurt the Ross, he had to stick to that. He had to… The Ross turned his back to Barry to take something out of the black object, and Barry had to fight his every natural urge to attack the human while he was distracted. His every nerve screamed at him to lose control, to become the animal he was supposed to be, to….something smelled good, and it wasn’t Ross right now. He started sniffing the air wildly, trying to figure out what it was, then caught sight of what the Ross was pulling out of the black thing. Meat. Food.

“There should be enough here to take the edge off… Oh hello there, see something you like?”

Barry had padded up to the Ross’s side, trying to investigate the strange meat tubes he was holding. They didn’t smell as good as fresh meat and blood, but it _was_ food, and he was so hungry he couldn’t really complain at this point.

“Can I hand feed you or will you bite my hands? Wait if you bite my hands…the whole werewolf deal is its spread by bites right? I didn’t think this plan through at all…”

The human held out two of the meat tubes, trying to keep his fingers as much out of the way as possible. Barry lunched forward, snapping up one of the meat tubes and eagerly devouring it. The human flinched away, probably nervous Barry was going to try and bite down on his hands as he ate. Barry swallowed down the meat tube, eagerly waiting for the human to let him have another. It didn’t taste the best, but it _was_ meat, maybe even a cow, and it did help take the edge off his hunger. After a moment, the human nervously held out another meat tube, trying his best to keep his fingers out of the way. Barry tore it from the human’s hand quickly, chewing it up eagerly. The human let out a happy bark, pulling out more tubes for Barry.

Barry sat there happily eating these strange meat tubes, after about five of them becoming just aware enough to consciously make sure he’d stop wildly snapping them down to stop scaring the Ross. He still was finding it a little hard to believe a human could be so kind to him, it felt like his whole life had been a lie. By the time there were no more meat tubes left, Barry wasn’t exactly full, but he did feel a whole lot better. Satiated enough that the Ross’s scent was barely bothering him anymore.

“Is that better big boy? Nice and full?”

The Ross started to pet him again, ruffling Barry’s ears. Now that his mouth was free, Barry could properly express the happy whine at the feeling of fingers in his fur. Barry carefully, nudged a paw against the Ross in a way he hoped wouldn’t scare him, trying to convey that he wanted to lay down and get rubbed again. The human seemed to get the message, going back to sitting up against the wall so Barry could flop into his lap, which he happily did.

“You’re my big happy doggie right now aren’t you Barry? I wonder how many hours we have left of this…”

Barry let out a happy huff as the Ross started massaging his shoulders again, almost wishing he could fall asleep like this… His ears pirqued as the Ross pulled something from his side, the small black object making strange noises. It sounded like words, and lights flickered from it’s surface, but he didn’t understand it. It made the Ross smile though, so it must be good. Barry was a little disappointed holding the object meant the Ross was only using one hand, but even the one hand felt good so he couldn’t complain much.

After a few more hours, the human seemed to be falling asleep, drooping against Barry’s side and hand holding the black object sinking. Barry would occasionally need to nudge him awake again, not wanting to lose the attention he was getting. Despite eating, Barry wasn’t quite sure he trusted himself around an unconscious human, even if he liked the Ross very much. Occasionally, a human would open the door to talk to the Ross, but after a few growls from Barry they usually left very quickly.  Other than that, it was probably one of the nicest nights Barry had ever had. He’d prefer to be outside of course, breathing in the scent of dirt and relaxing under the stars, but this was still so much better than what he’d usually be doing. Usually he’d be tied to a wall in a small room, or sometimes even tied up outside. Tonight he was free, so to speak.

He grumbled happily as the Ross jerked awake from his sleep and continued to rub his stomach. If Barry could sleep, this would drop him off in a second. It was so nice and relaxing…

After a few more hours though, Barry was restless again. His fur was prickling, and his body was aching, and no matter how much he stretched and scratched it only got worse. Even the human’s rubbing and scratching weren’t helping anymore. Barry started to pace again, trying to walk the growing pain out of him, but it wasn’t really working. He started to whine as it grew worse, licking at his skin to see if would help. He’d go back to the Ross every now and again to get some comforting murmurs and kisses, and to wake him up, but after a moment he’d have to start pacing again.

Suddenly, the pain really hit him, causing him to let out a howl and crumple to the floor. His bones were breaking, and his skin felt like it was tearing apart. He writhed with agony, his face shattering as he wailed, shaking violently. He was distantly aware of the human trying to sooth him with his words, a soft murmur of support, but even that wasn’t helping him anymore. Not when his body was tearing itself apart. His mind was absolutely blank, filled with nothing but pain as his limbs shifted, reforming into new shapes. Tears stained his rapidly receding fur, Barry sobbing as the pain became unbearable. As his hands started to snap into shape, the agony hit Barry so hard that with one final weak cry, Barry blacked out…

 

 

 

 

Barry slowly started to come back into awareness, body throbbing and aching. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to take in his surroundings. The first thing he saw was Ross, hovering over him in concern, looking exhausted with dark circles under his eyes. Why was Ross….Barry’s eyes widened as his memories of before the transformation came flooding back to him.

“You ok Barry?” Ross asked, voice shaking slightly.

“Not really…Ross, what are you doing in here? How are you…alive?” Barry asked softly, trying to force his mind to remember what he did when he had turned.

“I’ve been here for most of the night actually” Ross smiled wearily, rubbing his eyes.

“But, how? Actually, let me see if I can force myself to remember…” Barry said with a groan, pushing himself to sit up right. He glanced around the room, trying to piece everything together. There was dried blood all over the floor, claw marks covering the tiles and door, a fist shaped mark on the far wall, and there was loose dark brown hair everywhere. What the fuck had Barry done…

“…Hey Barry?” Ross breathed softly.

“Yeah?” Barry replied.

“Can I please hug you while you try to remember for yourself?” Ross asked shyly. Barry blinked in surprise, not used to seeing Ross so meek like this.

“…Yeah, that sounds nice” Barry smiled. Ross was still sitting up against the wall, so Barry gave himself a quick stretch, then started to crawl himself across the floor to sit between Ross’s legs. It took Barry a moment to realise he was naked. He felt himself starting to turn red as he realised Ross had seen everything, every inch of his body, and was still staring at him.

“I uh, I’m naked” Barry stuttered, sitting back down on the tiles in an attempt to hide his member.

“Barry I’ve just spent about 8 hours of my life massaging your naked body, I really don’t care at the moment” Ross chuckled softly.

“You what?” Barry blinked.

“Just come over here already. If you can’t remember I can tell you all about it” Ross smiled, motioning for Barry to come over. After a moment, Barry let out the pent up breath he was holding in, allowing Ross to beckon him over and wrap his arms around him.

“I didn’t kill anyone, did I?” Barry asked softly into Ross’s neck.

“You didn’t” Ross promised, running a delicate hand up Barry’s back. This motion triggered something in Barry’s memory, hazy images flooding his mind. Images of Ross’s face, the feeling of fingers in fur, the happy grumble in his throat. Ross had been petting him, like a dog. How?

Barry was still feeling very weak, so he decided to change positions so he was leaned up against Ross’s body, his friend wrapping his arms around Barry’s chest. Now that he’d had his memory triggered, he should be able to try and piece together the night… He remembered being afraid, being trapped and knowing people were around him. He remembered… people coming in, and being so scared, but unable to control himself. He remembered….blood. In his mouth. Not just blood, there was something heavy in his mouth filling it with blood. And hands on his face. He’d bitten someone.

“Who did I bite?” Barry asked, tears flooding his eyes.

“…Dan” Ross told him after a moment. Barry’s hand flew to his face, feeling sick. He remembered it now, Dan trying to reason with Barry, and how Barry had taken advantage of his friend to try and kill him. He remembered how good it had felt, the taste on his tongue… and he remembered being punched, someone rushing to Dan’s protection. Barry started shaking, tears streaming down his face as he remembered attacking Brian, and then Arin, remembered how he’d deliberately tried to debilitate them, kill them. How he’d been planning on killing them all, eating their corpses. Ross’s hands around his chest tightened, thumb stroking him in a comforting way.

“A-are Brian and Arin ok?” Barry asked, voice quaking as he cried.

“They were last I heard, I assume someone would have told me if that had changed” Ross said, rubbing his face into the crook of Barry’s neck. Barry looked around the room once again, suddenly painfully aware at how much blood was on the floor. Only the tiniest bit of it his own. Barry broke down into sobs, shaking violently as his heart twisted. Ross held him tight, trying to comfort Barry as best he could. How could Barry have let this happen? He’d hurt his best friends so badly, how could he ever forgive himself for this? How could _they_ ever forgive him for this? Barry choked on his tears, burying his face into Ross’s arms. Ross silently held him close, warming Barry with his body as the cold of the tiles started to seep into him.

They both jumped as the door started to open, a head poking into the room.

“Is he back?” Vernon asked nervously. Barry glanced up at his friend, teary eyed and sniffing. Vernon spotted Barry and let out a little yelp of joy, rushing to his side and hugging him. “Oh thank god you’re alright!”

“That’s debatable” Barry sniffed, burying his face into Vernon’s shoulder.

“We were all so fucking worried about you” Vernon laughed, voice shaking a little.

“I’m s-sorry!” Barry apologised with a sob.

“It’s not your fault Barry” Ross murmured supporting in his ear.

“How isn’t it? I’m the one who turned into a monster, not you guys” Barry wept, trying to resist the urge to push his friends away so he could never hurt them again.

“And that’s no one’s fault but whoever bit you in the first place” Ross tried to reassure his friend.

“…I’ve killed people, Ross. I might not have known who I-I was or what I was doing, but it was still me. I wanted to kill _you_ tonight Ross. I remember thinking about it a lot, s-so many times. I wanted to kill you while your back was turned, when no one was in here guarding you” Barry cried.

“And you didn’t. I knew you could kill me Barry, and I stayed here, and you didn’t hurt me once. Unless you count the fact my back is killing me right now and I’ve had no sleep” Ross laughed, trying to cheer Barry up.

“I wanted to though… and I hurt Dan, and Arin, and Brian. I was going to kill them, I _tried_ to, if I hadn’t been stopped I would have killed you all” Barry shivered, trying to get them to see how dangerous he was.

“Barry I know you’re trying to make us see how terrible and monstrous you are, but it’s hard for me to think that after spending eight hours or my life rubbing your stomach like a dog and having you get all huffy and grumble every time I stopped petting you” Ross chuckled, patting Barry’s chest.

“That sounds adorable” Vernon grinned.

“I am _not_ adorable!” Barry protested.

“You started licking me at one point” Ross smirked.

“Shut up Ross” Barry groaned, letting his head fall back onto Ross’s shoulder.

“It’s just dawned on me I’m hugging you while you’re naked” Vernon pointed out as he pulled away from Barry.

“Did my shirt and pants survive?” Barry asked his friend.

“Nah they’re gone, you can borrow my pants if you like though” Ross offered.

“Thanks man” Barry sniffed, letting Vernon help him to his feet. “I need to see the others. Do you think they’ll let me talk to them?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Ross asked, slowly crawling to his feet.

“Because I tried to kill them, and Dan…I….fuck what have I done” Barry buried his face in his hands, tears streaming down his face. Vernon pulled Barry back into his chest, letting him cry against him. How could Barry have done this to Dan? He’d never wish this fate on anymore, all these years of pain and bloodshed, he wouldn’t even want his worst enemy to feel this. And Barry had given it to Dan. He’d bitten one of his best friends, spread this terrible disease to him. For the rest of his life Dan’s going to have to live with this pain, this constant fear, every month of every year, with no way to stop it. Barry had just ruined Dan’s life…

“Here, see if these fit you” Ross tapped Barry on the shoulder, making him jump. He was holding out his pants for Barry, standing in his underwear.

“T-thanks” Barry sniffed, taking the pants from his friends. They were roughly the same height, so the pants _should_ fit him just fine. Barry tugged them up easily, feeling slightly guilty about wearing his friend’s pants when he had no underwear on, but given Ross had just been cradling him while he was naked he doubted Ross would mind too much.

“Perfect” Ross grinned. Vernon opened the door for them both, his eyes slightly red as he smiled at the pair. These people shouldn’t be so happy and crying for Barry, they should hate him for what he did… Barry followed his friends from the room, heart pounding as he tried to prepare himself to seeing Dan, Arin and Brian. How badly had he hurt them? How big were the scars they were going to have for the rest of their life?

Barry paused just before they entered the main, suddenly so afraid his friends will want nothing to do with him after what he’d done to them. Ross noticed this and fell back, running an encouraging hand up Barry’s shoulder. Barry smiled at the touch, memories flashing of how good it had felt to have those fingers running all over his body.

“It’ll be fine, they all love you mate” Ross reassured him. Barry wanted to argue, but he knew he’d never convince Ross of what a monster he was. So instead, he just nodded weakly, letting his friend lead him around the corner. Barry’s tears redoubled at what he saw.

Dan was fast asleep on the couch, sitting upright to keep pressure off the blood stained bandages wrapped around his chest. Arin was laying with his head in Dan’s lap, also deeply asleep, on his back to keep his chest and stomach still. Most of his torso was covered in bloody bandages and tissues, and even as he slept he seemed to be in pain. Brian was sitting on an armchair, only just awake, completely covered in red stained bandages. He seemed to be fighting his hardest to stay awake, shaking his leg and rubbing his face and eyes every few seconds. Suzy was on the floor in front of Dan and Arin, also on the verge of falling asleep as she lightly traced a finger up Arin’s arm. Jack and Brent were seemingly on guard, standing there wide awake but zoning out a little in the silent room. Ryan and Matt were fast asleep together on the beanbag pile, Ryan with a hand wrapped around the younger man’s waist as they slept. The TV was on, some show playing quietly in the background, but no one was really watching it, it was just noise to keep them going. Barry couldn’t stop staring at the bloody bandages on his friends, able to trace each mark with his eyes and know exactly which claws did which slash. He tried to choke back the sob in his throat, but as he traced the bloody crescent shaped stain on Dan’s chest, he couldn’t help but let out a whimper, tears streaming down his face.

“Barry!” Jack yelped happily, noticed the three of them standing in the opening. The happy cry jerked the room out of their sleep, Dan waking with a start and wincing as it pulled his wounds. Dan’s jump woke Arin up, who hissed with pain as the sudden jerk pulled at his chest wounds. Barry only had a second to absorb this and throw a hand to his face to muffle the whimper in his throat, before Jack threw himself at Barry, crushing him in his arms. Brent joined him a second later, not hugging Barry quite as hard, but enough for Barry to feel his love. He didn’t deserve this, they should hate him right now, not be nearly crying with joy over him. Barry let them hug him a moment longer, then slid himself away. He had to see Dan, Arin and Brian…

“You’re back!” Arin grinned sleepily. He tried to sit up, but let out a little grunt of pain as he moved. Suzy put her hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him still.

“Don’t sit up so fast! You’ve got to let those heal properly, not tear them” Suzy scolded Arin, making Arin lay back down in Dan’s lap. Barry was shaking, trying to hold in the wail stuck in his throat.

“Can you help me up then?” Arin asked her. Suzy hesitated a moment, before nodding. She slid her hands carefully under Arin’s shoulders, and very slowly started to sit him up, muttering tiny apologies every time Arin winced. Barry wanted to say something, anything to make up for what he’d done to them, but as he stared at the pair, at their wounds, Barry’s throat was stuck. As Arin finally managed to get himself upright, easing himself into the seat beside Dan, something in Barry broke. Barry felt to his knees with a sob, burying his head into the couch between Arin and Dan’s legs, trembling as his body shook with tears.

“Woah Barry, what’s wrong?” Dan asked, rubbing a hand up Barry’s back. Arin’s hand joined his a second later in Barry’s hair.

“I-I’m s-s-so fucking s-sorry!” Barry sobbed, falling apart in his friend’s laps.

“Hey it’s alright, it’s not your fault” Arin said soothingly, trying to comfort Barry.

“Yes it i-is! I stay-stayed here when I should have g-gone home, I-I put you all in so mu-much dange-er, and I hurt y-you both so b-badly” Barry wailed, stuttering as he choked on his words. He flinched as a third hand fell onto Barry’s shoulder, glancing up to see Brian staring down at him, trying to hide the pain in his eyes. He was covered in so many bandages, so much blood on them….

“You weren’t in control of yourself Bar, we don’t blame you for what happened” Brian said, trying to smile and reassure Barry.

“It was still me tho-though! I can remember it t-too, I remember the taste in my mouth, I remember planning exactly how to hurt you, I remember doing everything I could to try and rip you apart Brian, it was all me! I’m the one who singlehandedly just ruined all your lives!” Barry trembled, filled with so much left loathing he could barely breathe. He wished there was a way to cure this, to never have to turn again, but there just wasn’t. For a single, terrifying moment, a thought entered Barry’s head of a way he really _could_ end this, stop the transformations forever... He banished it after a moment, scared that his brain had even considered it again for even the tiniest of moments.

“Ok yeah we’ll all have some pretty nasty scars from this, but it really could be worse. Everyone’s alive, you’re ok, and once we heal everything will be fine” Arin tried to convince Barry, a slight edge of tears in his voice. Arin wasn’t good at listening to his friends crying without also starting to tear up.

“No it isn’t! None of you three will be able to show your chests again without those scars being clearly visible, and that’s part of your jobs! And Dan… Dan I’m so fucking sorry!” Barry wailed, unable to bare the guilt of what he’d done to his best friend.

“I know there’s something broken, but it’ll heal. Just give me a month and I’ll be back on my feet. Also I can just be less shirtless in music videos Bar, or hell we could even explain to the lovelies that we got attacked by a bear or something. We can work it out” Dan smiled sweetly, trying to motion for Barry to sit up and hug him.

“No, Dan, you don’t understand. I _bit_ you” Barry sniffed, staring up at Dan with teary eyes. Dan stared down at him in confusion for a moment, then it hit him, colour draining from his face.

“…Oh….oh fuck…” Dan murmured, sinking back into the chair as he realised why Barry was so upset.

“Shit, I should have realised that sooner…” Arin swore.

“There uh, wouldn’t happen to be a cure you know of would there?” Dan asked shakily.

“Do you really think I would go through this voluntarily if I knew there was a way out? I’ve tried a few mythical cures-“ Barry paused, trying to find the round bullet scar on his shoulder to show the room. “-none of them worked. Silver bullet did nothing. There’s no wolf leader to kill. Only sure fire way to stop turning is….you know…”

“Fuck…” Brian swore, running a hand through his hair. Suzy wrapped her hands around Dan, hugging him tightly. Dan was still staring blankly down at Barry, seemingly still absorbing this information.

“I-I’m so fucking sorry Dan! I never wanted this to happen, but I completely understand if you’re mad at me, o-or hate me, o-or want me to leave and-“  “I don’t hate you Barry” Dan interrupted. Barry could only stare up at him teary eyed, not quite believing that Dan couldn’t despise him for what he’s done to him.

“Don’t get me wrong, this is…big. It’s scary, but I don’t want you gone. You’re still my friend, I know you didn’t do this to me on purpose. And you’ll support me through this, right?” Dan asked softly

“…Yeah, yeah of course I will” Barry nodded, reassuring his friend.

“Then we can work this out together. Just stick with me in hospital and don’t leave me to deal with this alone, and everything will be ok. Now, come ‘ere” Dan said, motioning for Barry to climb up and hug him. Barry hesitated only a moment before shifting his face into Dan’s lap, shuddering as he cried. Dan leaned forward as much as he could without hurting himself to wrap his arms around Barry, murmuring soft, comforting words in his ear. “Hey hey, it’s alright. You don’t have to cry. Everything will be just fine. We’re all here for you Bar, you don’t have to deal with this alone anymore”

Barry started to feel more sets of hands on his body, the rest of the room starting to join in with hugging Barry. He hadn’t felt so loved in years, Barry was sobbing for a whole new reason now. After a few minutes, he leant back out of Dan’s crotch to hug everyone properly, unable to stop smiling as everyone surrounded him. At some point, Barry started feeling very familiar fingers in his hair, fingers he’d had hours and hours to learn off by heart. He couldn’t help the happy sigh that escaped his lips, falling right back into Ross’s lap as easily as falling into bed. Ross let out a tired laugh, but let Barry rest against him yet again, fingers trailing through Barry’s hair.

“Even cuter in person” Vernon giggled from somewhere behind Barry, but he was too tired to open his eyes and find exactly where.

“Did any of you guys happen to tell Holly what happened? Or does she think we’re pulling a mega all-nighter?” Ross asked the room.

“I called her up and tried to explain as best I could, she only believed me because I sent her pictures of you and Barry through the door. She said she’d come in the morning to make sure everything was fine, so she’s probably on her way now” Brent explained. Barry felt a little guilty as he thought about how much damage he’d done to the bathroom, and how much it’d cost to fix or renovate it all, but as Ross started to stroke the back of his neck, he could only let out a low moan of pleasure and bury himself further into Ross’s lap.

“Barry I love you mate, but that was an extremely sexual moan for someone right next to my crotch, especially when I’m in nothing but my underwear. Mind if we lay on the beanbag and you put your head like, on my chest or something?” Ross asked, laughing tightly. Barry let out a tired hum, letting Ross lead him over to the beanbag pile, and curling up against his friend’s chest. It was probably the gayest thing he’s ever done, but he really didn’t care at the moment. It felt so good, and he was so tired, why not let himself have something nice for a change. Usually the day after turning he was locked in his room stewing in self-loathing, fixing whatever he’d broken in his room, then passing out for the rest of the day. Sure he was going to pass out any minute now seeing as he was sore and exhausted, plus the way Ross was stroking his shoulders and back, and he’d be worrying about fixing the bathroom once he was awake, but he was fairly happy. Still plagued with guilt over what he’d done, but being forgiven and told he was loved was balancing the guilt out majorly. Barry mindlessly put a hand on Ross’s stomach, starting to forget what exactly he was doing as he started to drift off to sleep, but his friend didn’t seem to mind. As he slowly started to fall asleep, he heard someone mention something about hospitals, but the murmur of voices wasn’t really piercing the thick fog of sleep clouding his brain. The soft sound of Ross’s breaths in Barry’s ear and the beating of his heart was what finally pushed Barry over the edge, falling asleep against his friend’s chest with a tiny smile on his face, for once he felt…ok...


End file.
